Automated or autonomous vehicles (AVs) may require continuous data processing using a data processing system that can generate a large amount of heat. A critical design parameter for continuous processing systems is performance per watt, since the performance of such processing systems typically rely on the performance of their cooling systems. For AVs, maintaining peak performance of on-board processing units may be crucial to achieve reliability and safety. Therefore, maintaining the on-board processing units within an optimal operational environment can be crucial to progressing AV technology.